Joerg Kusangaya

Expertise

Joerg Kusangaya is a construction and building disputes lawyer in Melbourne advising commercial, private and government clients on complex litigation and dispute resolution matters. He acts predominantly in back-end construction and commercial disputes, including litigation, adjudication and formal dispute processes.

Joerg has extensive experience in domestic building disputes, construction and commercial contractual disputes, expert determinations, and adjudication applications under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payments Act 2002 (Vic).

He regularly appears in the Supreme Court of Victoria, County Court of Victoria, Magistrates’ Court and Federal Court of Australia, as well as the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). He also has experience instructing on interlocutory applications, final hearings and trials across the County Court, VCAT and the Supreme Court.

Joerg advises clients throughout all stages of construction and commercial disputes, including contractual disputes, alternative dispute resolution, contract termination, Security of Payment claims and adjudications, pre-litigation negotiations, expert determinations, and project risk and dispute management.

Experience

Joerg’s experience includes acting for builders, owners, owners corporations, subcontractors, government clients and developers.

Some examples of matters in which Joerg has acted include:

• conducting a complex construction and contractual dispute in the County Court that ran for 18 sitting days in late 2022 involving a quantum of over $6,000,000. The dispute arose from the construction of a childcare centre in Eltham. Joerg appeared as instructing solicitor for the defendant builder on all 18 sitting days and was involved in preparation of written final submissions and an application for leave to appeal in the Court of Appeal
• acting in a County Court proceeding concerning the sale of a high-end residential property in Black Rock with a sale price exceeding $5,000,000. Joerg appeared for the defendant vendor as instructing solicitor in a trial running for six sitting days, plus one additional day for oral closing submissions in reply in late 2024. The client was successful in defending claims for misrepresentation and in the vendor’s counterclaim for the return of the deposit, which had been held in Court for almost four years
• acting for a respondent builder in a 11-day VCAT hearing concerning a domestic building dispute involving alleged defective works and breach of statutory warranties under section 8 of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), with a quantum exceeding $600,000. The proceeding also involved allegations of fraud relating to the authenticity of a waterproofing certificate, which were successfully struck out as an abuse of process under section 78 of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic). Following judgment, Joerg successfully obtained indemnity costs in relation to the fraud allegations, as well as standard costs for the contractual claim
• acting for a plaintiff in an urgent injunction application in the Supreme Court seeking recovery of possession of an ongoing development after the builder refused to vacate the site following termination of the building contract
• acting for owners in VCAT proceedings against VMIA (now BPC) relating to insurance claims following the liquidation of a builder, resulting in a full settlement
• securing favourable settlement outcomes for builders, owners, subcontractors, principals and developers at compulsory conferences and mediations in VCAT and the County Court in relation to significant domestic building and commercial construction disputes
• appearing in VCAT at directions hearings, small claims hearings, mediations, compulsory conferences and assessment of damages hearings
• appearing in the County Court at directions hearings, judicial mediations, private mediations, interlocutory applications and case management conferences
• acting for owners and builders in domestic building disputes in VCAT involving defective works, contractual disputes and rectification works
• acting for owners corporations and private lot owners in complex VCAT and County Court proceedings involving building defects and major rectification works, including combustible cladding and water ingress
• advising and assisting clients with claims under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payments Act 2002 (Vic), including adjudication applications and judicial review proceedings
• advising clients on contract administration, including preparation of extension of time claims, variations and contractual notices
• advising a major builder in a dispute with a regional council in the Central Highlands relating to water ingress issues at a sports and entertainment centre
• advising government clients on construction and property disputes, including rental disputes, public facility disputes, government-owned construction disputes and related matters.

Membership

• Society of Construction Law Australia
• The Building Dispute Practitioners Society
• Southern Solicitors Law Association